“I’ve Had My Baby Early, It’s 26 Weeks”

Two fears that many pregnant women have are premature birth and giving birth alone.

Colleen Constante experienced both and has now spoken publicly about the events.

To celebrate Thank a Paramedic Day, Constante discussed her experience and even shared the audio of the emergency call she made immediately after giving birth to her son, Lucas.

Colleen gave birth to her son when she was just 25 weeks pregnant. She was home alone and terrified. The emergency operator’s calm attitude helped to keep Colleen focused, and the paramedics who showed up less than eight minutes after the call was placed are credited with saving 26 week old Lucas’s life.

During the emergency call, Colleen sounds terrified as she explains, “I’ve had my baby early, it’s 26 weeks and it’s crying but no-one’s here.” The operator calmly talks Colleen through what she needs to do. Baby Lucas can be heard crying in the background.

“I Walked In… There She Was Holding The Baby”

During the call, Colleen asks for someone to call her husband. A few minutes later, Lucas’s Dad arrives home. Speaking to 3AWRadio, Rob Explained, “I knew Colleen wasn’t well, I just thought she was watching a DVD and there was a baby crying on the DVD. I walked into the ensuite and there she was holding the baby.”

Colleen appeared on 3AWRadio with Lucas’s dad as part of Thank a Paramedic Day. The couple listened to the recording of the emergency call for the first time, and then discussed the events on air. Colleen told 3AWRadio listening to the emergency call was “Very distressing. Obviously it brings back lots of memories. It’s hard to hear yourself so panicked.”

The Paramedics Resuscitate Lucas

Once the paramedics arrived, Lucas was taken out to the ambulance to be transported to hospital. Lucas’s heart stopped, but the paramedics were able to quickly resuscitate him. Colleen was taken to the hospital in a separate ambulance. When she arrived at the hospital, staff congratulated them on the birth of their baby.

Lucas is now a happy and healthy baby, and his parents are grateful for the help of the emergency operator and paramedics that day. You can hear the call, and see Colleen and Rob talking to 3AWRadio below.

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Fiona Peacock is a writer, researcher and lover of all things to do with pregnancy, birth and motherhood (apart from the lack of sleep). She is a home birth advocate, passionate about gentle parenting and is also really tired.

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